UK to host Kentucky Blood Center Back-to-School Blood Drive
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 28, 2023) — University of Kentucky students, faculty and staff can start the school year off on the right foot by donating blood and saving local lives.
Kentucky Blood Center will be on the University of Kentucky campus Aug. 28 to Sept. 1 to collect lifesaving blood products for more than 70 Kentucky hospitals, including UK HealthCare. Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., KBC will be stationed in Ballroom A at the Gatton Student Center.
Additionally, for students on the south side of campus, KBC will have a bloodmobile outside the William T. Young Library on Monday from 4 to 8 p.m.
All donors will be thanked for their time and donation with a free “Give Local” T-shirt, a $5 Starbucks gift card and a One Hour Bounce Back Card from Main Event. A Bounce Back Card is good for 60 minutes of free arcade play at Main Event.
Donors can schedule their appointment in advance at kybloodcenter.org/uk-back2school-drive-2023 or call 800-775-2522. Appointments are preferred but walk-ins are welcome.
A single donation – which takes less than an hour from registration to refreshment – can save up to three lives, serving as a lifesaver for patients with cancer, life support for trauma victims, a vital supplement for organ transplants and surgeries, a resource for fighting diseases, and so much more. One in four people will need a blood transfusion in their lifetime.
Kentucky Blood Center is the exclusive provider of lifesaving blood for UK Healthcare.
Blood donors must be at least 17 years old (16 with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health, show a photo I.D. and meet additional requirements. Sixteen-year-old donors must have a signed parental permission slip, which can be found at kybloodcenter.org.
About Kentucky Blood Center
Celebrating 55 years of saving lives in Kentucky, KBC is the largest independent, full-service, nonprofit blood center in Kentucky. Licensed by the FDA, KBC’s sole purpose is to collect, process and distribute blood for patients in Kentucky. KBC provides services in 90 Kentucky counties and has donor centers in Lexington, Louisville, Frankfort, Pikeville, Somerset and the Tri-County area.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.